ampnation
04-10-2012, 02:22 AM
Hi all,
I wander around the internets looking for as much information as I can. I actually remember about 1% so it takes a while. LOL Anyway, in my travels I found someone comparing the EV ZXA5 to an FBT Promaxx14A. I had heard the name FBT before and knew it had some fans, but hadn't really looked closely. I still haven't heard them, but wanted to relate what I've learned.
First off, I'm told the 14A compares very favorably to the EV ZXA5 for max SPL but sounds better doing it and costs considerably less. Since it's priced closer to the QSC KW152 around $1100 than the K12, it's worth adding that speaker to this comparison. On paper they're all close enough to say they're equal for max SPL.
14A 135db
KW152 133.5db
ZXA5 133db
The ZXA5 is priced at about $1500 minimum with a MAP of $1699, considerably higher than the EV and FBT at around $1100.
Extrapolating from everything I've read -- both user comments and specs -- I would say the sound quality is closer to the KW152 which is known to be pretty sweet with the max SPL the ZXA5 is known for so it's like getting the best of each for the price of the lower priced model of the two.
Bass extension is quite good with the published specs showing it going down to 45Hz vs. 50Hz for the EV and 44Hz for the QSC. I found an FR graph for the KW152 (http://forum.qscaudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3548) (on their forum along with other K and KW models), and comparing the graphs, it seems the usable low frequencies are...
14A 60Hz
KW152 50Hz
ZXA5 65Hz
Mind you, if the FBT is louder overall than the KW and it seems to be, then you could in theory, bring the KW up to it's max usable SPL level, bring the FBT up to the same level, and then instead of continuing to make it louder overall, simply start moving the low cut filter further down and I'm not sure if you would start running out of gas before or after you got 10Hz lower so I'll say they're probably fairly evenly matched.
The FBT shines regarding weight too -- a LOT!
14A 36.4 lbs
KW152 62 lbs
ZXA5 50.5 lbs
That means the 14A weighs in closer to the K10 than the K12 (32lbs and 41lbs respectively) let alone the KW152 and is almost half the weight of the ZXA5. And if you wanted to compare the Promaxx10A to the K10, it weighs in under 25 lbs. so 7 lbs (22%) lighter than the K10.
At any rate, if you can afford $1100 per cabinet and want a good all purpose cab that can cover a larger crowd than say the K12 or ART312A, this might be an alternative to the EV or KW152.
I wander around the internets looking for as much information as I can. I actually remember about 1% so it takes a while. LOL Anyway, in my travels I found someone comparing the EV ZXA5 to an FBT Promaxx14A. I had heard the name FBT before and knew it had some fans, but hadn't really looked closely. I still haven't heard them, but wanted to relate what I've learned.
First off, I'm told the 14A compares very favorably to the EV ZXA5 for max SPL but sounds better doing it and costs considerably less. Since it's priced closer to the QSC KW152 around $1100 than the K12, it's worth adding that speaker to this comparison. On paper they're all close enough to say they're equal for max SPL.
14A 135db
KW152 133.5db
ZXA5 133db
The ZXA5 is priced at about $1500 minimum with a MAP of $1699, considerably higher than the EV and FBT at around $1100.
Extrapolating from everything I've read -- both user comments and specs -- I would say the sound quality is closer to the KW152 which is known to be pretty sweet with the max SPL the ZXA5 is known for so it's like getting the best of each for the price of the lower priced model of the two.
Bass extension is quite good with the published specs showing it going down to 45Hz vs. 50Hz for the EV and 44Hz for the QSC. I found an FR graph for the KW152 (http://forum.qscaudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3548) (on their forum along with other K and KW models), and comparing the graphs, it seems the usable low frequencies are...
14A 60Hz
KW152 50Hz
ZXA5 65Hz
Mind you, if the FBT is louder overall than the KW and it seems to be, then you could in theory, bring the KW up to it's max usable SPL level, bring the FBT up to the same level, and then instead of continuing to make it louder overall, simply start moving the low cut filter further down and I'm not sure if you would start running out of gas before or after you got 10Hz lower so I'll say they're probably fairly evenly matched.
The FBT shines regarding weight too -- a LOT!
14A 36.4 lbs
KW152 62 lbs
ZXA5 50.5 lbs
That means the 14A weighs in closer to the K10 than the K12 (32lbs and 41lbs respectively) let alone the KW152 and is almost half the weight of the ZXA5. And if you wanted to compare the Promaxx10A to the K10, it weighs in under 25 lbs. so 7 lbs (22%) lighter than the K10.
At any rate, if you can afford $1100 per cabinet and want a good all purpose cab that can cover a larger crowd than say the K12 or ART312A, this might be an alternative to the EV or KW152.